I just start with Zappa and I have that strange feeling that it will never end

I've been into Zappa since 2006, and I'm still discovering new things. Admittedly I wasn't listening much between 2009 and 2012, but I've been obsessed since last November, and never thought it would last this long (7 months so far), I keep buying new albums I don't have yet, when I think I'm good, I need more, and there's more albums planned for release in 2013.It WILL never end...

My first experience with Zappa was via The Mothers in 1968.....this girl who sat next to me in English class was a fan and turned me onto them. Over the years I have remained a fan but never really got into all the posthumous releases.

btw are you a Beefheart fan..... have found that many Zappa fans seem to like the Captain also.

I don't have any Beefheart albums at the moment, though I like anything with him in Zappa's catalog. I've heard random songs over the years, and they're interesting, I just haven't taken the time to explore his music.

Ice Cream For Crow or Doc At The Radar Station are good starting points for someone coming in to Beefheart by way of Zappa.

I always say jump right in with Trout Mask Replica or Lick My Decals Off Baby.

Twenty Small Cigars is such a beautiful tune. It's unfortunate that it's stuck in the middle of Chunga's Reveng (no offense to that album, but TSC doesn't belong there IMO), and that that original version is very short. It's nice to hear it on the Jean-Luc Ponty album, and even more so on one of the AAAFNRAA Birthday Bundles, played by ZPZ i the studio, but there's no other version from one of Frank's own albums that I know of. It's too bad that this song wasn't played by later bands, like the Roxy/74 lineup, or the 88 band at least.

Twenty Small Cigars is such a beautiful tune. It's unfortunate that it's stuck in the middle of Chunga's Reveng (no offense to that album, but TSC doesn't belong there IMO), and that that original version is very short. It's nice to hear it on the Jean-Luc Ponty album, and even more so on one of the AAAFNRAA Birthday Bundles, played by ZPZ i the studio, but there's no other version from one of Frank's own albums that I know of. It's too bad that this song wasn't played by later bands, like the Roxy/74 lineup, or the 88 band at least.

The Band From Utopia/Banned From Utopia played TSC when I saw them live. It's also on their album "So Yuh Don't Like Modern Art".

Frank Zappa murder conspiracy? I found these amusing, though interesting, bits from scanning around zappa.com forums. Of course, it's mostly speculation, though some good points are brought up.

I still think he was a
CIA hit, using their little radioactive particle tech in his food to
create his cancer. Funny how guys like Frank and Bill Hicks die of
cancer young while scumbags like Falwell live forever, while smoking and
drinking twice as much.Speaking of scumbags, f**k that f**kin'
Tipper f**kin' Gore!! Anyone remember the PMRC that Frank spent so much
time testifying against, and helped stop? Tippy ho is a bitch from
HELL!!! Al can kiss my ass for marrying that phony c**t! And then when
that scheme tanked, they pose for pictures with the Grateful Dead,
master drug fiends!Lick my zircon-encrusted a****le, Tipper!!End of rant.

also:

Many will discard such an idea as 'implausable'.

The termination of political individuals is not rare in
American history.
Zappa became overtly vocal politically
in the 1980's. I stand to be corrected, but I recall FZ himself
was aware that his late 1980's political delivery was being
monitored by the American secret services.

Bill Hicks, the stand up comic GreenGenes mentions
was also being overtly critical
of American political institutions around the same time.
He too expired soon after reaching a platform of influence.

I don't underestimate the idea that someone, somewhere,
may have decided that FZ was a threat.
In American historical fashion, it would be normal to extinguish
an individual to preserve the political elite's position of power.

I quote FZ himself 'While I was down in W.D.C, certain folks were not glad to see me..'

^ Hmm...interesting! I'm not one for beliving in conspiracy theories, but I guess it's fairly plausible. I mean, they both died of cancer, and only a couple of months apart. And both were critical towards the government. Quite the coincidence!

Frank Zappa murder conspiracy? I found these amusing, though interesting, bits from scanning around zappa.com forums. Of course, it's mostly speculation, though some good points are brought up.

I still think he was a
CIA hit, using their little radioactive particle tech in his food to
create his cancer. Funny how guys like Frank and Bill Hicks die of
cancer young while scumbags like Falwell live forever, while smoking and
drinking twice as much.Speaking of scumbags, f**k that f**kin'
Tipper f**kin' Gore!! Anyone remember the PMRC that Frank spent so much
time testifying against, and helped stop? Tippy ho is a bitch from
HELL!!! Al can kiss my ass for marrying that phony c**t! And then when
that scheme tanked, they pose for pictures with the Grateful Dead,
master drug fiends!Lick my zircon-encrusted a****le, Tipper!!End of rant.

also:

Many will discard such an idea as 'implausable'.

The termination of political individuals is not rare in
American history.
Zappa became overtly vocal politically
in the 1980's. I stand to be corrected, but I recall FZ himself
was aware that his late 1980's political delivery was being
monitored by the American secret services.

Bill Hicks, the stand up comic GreenGenes mentions
was also being overtly critical
of American political institutions around the same time.
He too expired soon after reaching a platform of influence.

I don't underestimate the idea that someone, somewhere,
may have decided that FZ was a threat.
In American historical fashion, it would be normal to extinguish
an individual to preserve the political elite's position of power.

I quote FZ himself 'While I was down in W.D.C, certain folks were not glad to see me..'

This theory is fascinating. A couple points...

First, I heard FZ interviewed on the Cal Berkeley radio station in 1984 when there was talk of him running for president. It was a call in show and a listener asked if he would run as a Republican or Democrat? His answer (and I'm paraphrasing from memory), "Neither. You know the difference between the parties? When a Republican gets elected you know what they're gonna do to you. Big business gets the breaks, the environment suffers, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. If a Democrat is elected, you don't what they're going to do to you! They are so poor compared to the Republicans that they take money from any special interest group they can find. You don't know who owns them."

Second, in the dark days following 9/11 when the Bush regime (and let's be fair, congressional Democrats as well) flew the Patriot Act, Homeland Security and God knows what else into law to erode our protections under the constitution, I sincerely missed the voice of FZ. I remember feeling very sad that he wasn't there speaking out. The only high profile musicians I recall who publicly stood up to the madness were The Dixie Chicks and they paid for it. FZ was great because as an independent, he wasn't part of any machine and answered to no one but his own conscience. I'd bet a dime to a donut we would've seen a new Zappa album every 3 months chronicling and criticizing the insanity.

So I broke down and ordered 200 Motels off Amazon. Good thing I waited, as the price dropped a bit. Still overpriced for an out-of-print album I think ($30), but who knows if/when it will be reissued under UMe (probably next week, my luck).

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